The Fund for America

The Fund for America, a 527 political action committee, was established November 7, 2007, to "accept and disburse funds in order to create a lasting progressive majority voice in public affairs."

On March 6, 2008, NPR reported that The Fund for America gave Campaign to Defend America, an incarnation of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, a million dollars to run an anti-McCain TV advertisement. "Leading the Campaign to Defend America are key figures from the more famous group MoveOn.org. They declined or ignored several requests for interviews this week. ...  Last year (sic), some wealthy Democrats organized the Democracy Alliance to focus their money. One result is the Fund for America, essentially a pot of money for pro-Democratic organizations. ...  The Fund for America has said it is building a kitty of $100 million. There's a conservative counterpart — Freedom's Watch. Its leaders have used $250 million as a target." 

On March 17, 2008, the Associated Press reported the Fund for America has "a goal of raising $100 million" to elect Democrats in 2008" and "was set up last year by John Podesta, a former chief of staff for President Clinton; Anna Burger, the secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union; and Rob McKay, a California philanthropist. Among its donors are multimillionaire financier George Soros, who gave it $2.5 million last year, and the SEIU, which also contributed $2.5 million last year, according to Fund for America's IRS records. The fund has helped finance another new nonprofit group, the Campaign to Defend America, which already has run anti-McCain ads. 

Officers
According to the organizational document filed with the IRS, the following are officers for the Fund:


 * John Podesta, Director
 * Rob McKay, Director, Secretary/Treasurer (President, The McKay Foundation, Chair of Democracy Alliance, and prominent Democratic donor)
 * Anna Burger, Director (SEIU top-ranking officer, Vice Chair of Democracy Alliance)

Staff

 * Amy Dacey, Executive Director [

Funders
On March 5, 2008, the Center for Investigative Reporting listed the following funders of The Fund for America: "Lee Fikes: President of the Bonanza Oil Co. and president and CEO of the Leland Fikes Foundation in Dallas ... ; Sacramento Street Partners: Rob McKay, secretary-treasurer of the Fund for America, is a partner in Sacramento Street Partners; Donald Sussman: Chairman of Trust Asset Management LLP, a hedge-fund management firm in the Virgin Islands. ... ; Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ... ; AKT Investments: A Sacramento, Calif., development firm. Its chairman is Angelo Tsakopoulos, a longtime Democratic donor and fundraiser for John Kerry in 2004. The Tsakopoulos family has long supported the Clintons; George Soros: The hedge-fund trader and investor is a financial anchor of the Democratic Party and the progressive movement. Soros gave more than $25 million in 2003-2004, including $7.5 million to America Coming Together and $12 million to the Joint Victory Campaign 2004, which in turn gave to other liberal political groups. 

Leaders
On March 5, 2008, the Center for Investigative Reporting listed the following leaders of The Fund for America: "John Podesta, director: CEO of the Center for American Progress, a think tank which he launched with others to develop and promote progressive ideas. The CAP Action Fund is the group's advocacy arm and belongs to the anti-Iraq war coalition. Podesta previously served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. Rob McKay, secretary-treasurer: McKay is a partner in Sacramento Street Partners and heir to the Taco Bell fortune. He is also head of the Democracy Alliance and president of the The McKay Foundation; John Stocks, director: Stocks is the deputy executive director of the National Education Association, the nation's largest union and a powerful force in the Democratic Party. Anna Burger, director: Burger is the secretary-treasurer at SEIU, the No. 2 job at the union. She is also chair of the Change to Win labor federation, a coalition of SEIU and six other unions that was formed in 2005 as a breakaway group from the AFL-CIO. Amy K. Dacey, executive director: Dacey is a former adviser to Anna Burger." ]

Contact information
555 13th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Campaign to Defend America
 * Rob McKay

External articles

 * Cara Parks, Let the Attack Ads Roll! Your guide to the shady 527s who will be playing a major role in this year's presidential campaign, The New Republic, June 12, 2008.
 * Jim Kuhnhenn, Liberals to Spend $150 Million on '08, Associated Press, March 18, 2008.
 * Independent Group Airs Anti-McCain Ad, National Public Radio, Morning Edition, March 6, 2008.
 * Chris Cillizza,  Dacey To Head Democratic Soft Money Group], Washington Post Online, December 6, 2007.
 * Mary Katherine Ham, "Let the Swiftboating Begin!" Townhall.com, November 12, 2007.
 * Jason Rhyne, "Moving On: Former Clinton chief of staff eyes $100m PAC," The Raw Story, November 12, 2007.